Rangers coach Tortorella named Jack Adams finalist

On Monday, the NHL named Rangers coach John Tortorella (Melrose,
Mass.) as one of the three finalist for the Jack Adams Award, which
is annually given to the top coach in the league.

Rounding out the list of three finalists were Ken Hitchcock and
Paul MacLean. Hitchcock took over after Davis Payne was fired in
St. Louis and went a superb 43-15-11. It is his fourth
nomination.

John Tortorella (Melrose, Mass.) and the
Rangers beat the Flyers, 3-2, in the Winter Classic. (Getty
Images)

MacLean came over to Ottawa after six seasons as an assistant in
Detroit. The Senators were unanimously pegged to finish near the
bottom of the standings in the conference. MacLean guided them to a
41-31-10 record, good for eighth place in the conference.

Tortorella won the award back in 2004 while behind the bench for
the Tampa Bay Lightning, who went on to win the Stanley Cup that
season. He finished second in the voting the year prior for the
award, which is voted upon by the NHL Broadcasters
Association.

Tortorella, now in his fourth season in New York since taking
over for Tom Renney during the 2008-09 campaign, led the Rangers to
a first-place finish in the Eastern Conference during the regular
season, going 51-24-7 -- the club's best record since their
Cup-winning season back in 1993-94.

“I’m happy for him,” goalie Henrik Lundqvist
-- a finalist for the Hart and Vezina trophies -- told the New York
Post. “He’s done a great job for us. He’s such
passionate coach and he puts in a lot of work to get us going.
He’s been a good fit. This year, especially, guys knew what
to expect going in. It’s been fun playing under
Torts.”

If Tortorella wins, he'd become just the second of the last 13
recipients to not be a first-time winner. Since 1998-99 when
Ottawa's Jacques Martin earned the honor, only Jacques Lemaire
(2002-03, Minnesota) -- named the league's top coach in 1993-94
with the Devils -- has been a multi-time winner of the Jack Adams
Trophy.